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Star on the Rise: Hailee Steinfeld

With an Oscar Nomination already under her belt, as well as a starring role in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, HAILEE STEINFELD is one to watch.

Despite only being 15-years-old, Steinfeld has proved to be “the next big thing,” following her outstanding portrayal of Mattie Ross in the Coen Brothers’ 2010 filmTrue Grit which consequently led to her first Oscar nomination, in spite of having just turned 14.

Steinfeld was chosen out of 15,000 young actresses to play Mattie Ross in the adaptation of Charles Portis’ novel, and remake of John Wayne’s 1969 film of the same name. Directors JOEL AND ETHAN COEN of No Country for Old Menfame were particularly impressed by Steinfeld’s grasp of the script’s language saying that, “99 per cent of the people we saw just couldn’t even handle the language. It’s a weird thing for an adult actor to negotiate that kind of language. It’s something most 13-year-olds can’t handle convincingly”.

Steinfeld knew she wanted to be an actor by age 8. Her neighbour’s role in a local play emitted her admiration of the acting field, where she admits that, “It was so amazing to see someone acting up close”. This eventually led to her exposure in adverts for K-Mart and Guess, coupled with a guest role in the hit comedy Back to You.

Announcing on Twitter that she had completed CARLO CARLEI’s remake of the Shakespearean classic Romeo and Juliet, she is currently working on Ender’s Game based on the Orson Scott Card novel, set to release in 2013. But despite her blossoming acting career she admits to wanting to be “on the other side of the camera,” and would like to eventually produce and direct.

“I love the film route and I’m going to try my hardest to stay on it,” Steinfeld says ambitiously.